Sep 17, 2012 - Lagos,Nigeria

To day we got to the second port in Lagos,Nigeria. They had an abundance of bee honey, gemstones and cocoa. I met Muruthi's cousin there! we talked for a while and he showed me around the town. I am having the best time on this trip I'm so happy that I got to go! I cant wait to try different foods, meet interesting people, see new animals, and what other surprises await me!

Feb 9, 2009 - AbuijaNigeria

Ok so have been tied to the keyboard and made to update out Blog which I am ashamed to say is massivly behind.. Apologies (and for the spelling)! Not entirely sure where we left off but needless to say after a particulalrly missable (we could have driven past it) border and the most laid back security (a man and a donkey) we entered that much feared country Nigeria - famous for Oil, Corruption, Kidnapping, Guns, Credit Card Fraud, Pollution, Decemation of the Natural Environment (Rainforest)and everything Dodgy you could think of.... So it...

Jul 23, 2007 - A Day in the Bush

Recently, I had a chance to visit a remote Nigerian village with a Baptist missionary. This missionary, Pastor Ron, has been spreading the Gospel for the past eight years to people deep in the bush. Trucking to our destination, we drove over rivers, creeks, and around pot holes that my wife's mini cooper could have fit in. As we approached the village, my new friend pointed to an old fallen down tree near the road. He said, "Pastor Kevin, many people in the village considered that particular tree to be their God. When it fell down they said...

Jan 30, 2007 - Yankari National Park, near Jos Nigeria

BABOONS, WARTHOGS, and ELEPHANTS oh my! In Yankari National Park you will find an amazing place off the really beaten track full of animals, the Wiki Warm Springs and yes more construction! A couple of hours drive in Oscar we arrive at the celebrated national park. (Celebrated because in a country of 135 million people where most of the animals have and still do end up on the plates of people in the search for food or riches through poching, Yankari has a helthy population of animals under protection.) As we cross the impressive gates still...

Jan 29, 2007 - Jos Nigeria

Well we are here in Nigeria, actually we've been here for a few days already. It's super hot, like plus 36 in the late afternoon. I've seen lots of firefly's - so cute, and monkeys and chimps plus a nasty black cobra on my way to the washroom yesterday (dawn saw it). I ran and ran, too bad my new husband wasn't around to see it and scare it off!! Anyways gotta got, the power has gone out twice while I type this email. Let's just say the west african power supply is not reliable.

Jan 28, 2007 - Drill Ranch in the Afi Mountains of Cameroon

The Drill Ranch is located in the Afi Mountains of Eastern Nigeria. This ranch is a natural jungle area for monkeys of all kinds but was originaly designed to protect the Drill monkey, an endangered species, although they also have Chimps that have been orphaned or taken from pochers etc. The ranch itself has many enclosures which are simply natural areas with electrified fencing around each area. It is a great place that many places in the world could example from. There are a full compliment of staff and vets looking after the entire...

Aug 4, 2006 - London, England to Lusaka, Zambia

We waited all day at the airport, for our passengers to show up. The flight attendant called and was ill, so no flight attendant for this flight. Company called about 4 PM and informed us that our passengers would meet us in Zambia. We are requested to position the aircraft to Lusaka, Zambia. Finally departed London at about 4:30 PM. Flew pretty much over Normandy coast of France, across Barcelona, Spain. and across the coast of Algeria to Kano, Nigeria, where we stopped for fuel. It was nearly midnight when we landed for fuel, but the...

Oct 24, 2005 - The End of Nigeria

A couple of days ago I crossed the border from Nigeria back into Cameroon. It was a long and not particularly good road that took me from Kano to the border, by way of a night in the town of Maiduguri. Suffering the worst electricity supply of anywhere I've been to in Nigeria, and a rash of closed restaurants, Maiduguri was very much a something and nothing sort of a place. My mobile phone decided to give up the ghost here as if in anticipation of leaving, and the hotel I stayed at refused to put the generator on as there was only a...

Oct 18, 2005 - Kano: A Taste of the Sahel

I'm in Kano, northern Nigeria's biggest city, seat of another ancient emirate and a major jumping off point for the old trade routes into the Sahara. It's very hot and very dusty, with the Harmattan winds bringing sand in from the desert and turning the sky a dull brown. Research during Ramadan is proving an exhausting experience. With the mercury nudging forty degrees, your natural inclination is to continually stop to take in fluids, but across much of the city, cafes are closed during daylight hours, and, besides, to drink publicly...

Oct 16, 2005 - Zaria: Ramadan Days and Nights

I haven't written an entry for about a week because I've had my head down and have been crunching serious miles with my research head firmly fixed on. Since I last wrote, I've been heading steadily northwards, through Abuja, Nigeria's made-to-measure capital, and the cool plateau town of Jos (and a few more places besides), to reach Zaria, an ancient Muslim trading city in the heart of Hausaland. Travelling north, I've watched the surrounding country slowly changing. The lush riot of vegetation that describes southern Nigeria has subsided,...

Oct 10, 2005 - Ibadan: Four-Across on the Buses

Today I'm in Ibadan, a sprawling and non-descript city north of Lagos. It's not the sort of place to feature highly on anyone's itinerary, but is a useful junction point for those heading north, which is why I'm here. And since transport seems to the main concern, I thought I'd try to give a little flavour of what it's like travelling by public transport in Nigeria. The first thing to note is that white people just don't travel by public transport here. At least, that's the expectation locals have. Oyibos tend to have expensive cars and...

Oct 5, 2005 - Lagos: Go-Slow in the Urban Jungle

Since my last blog entry I've hopped, skipped and jumped from the Igbo-dominated east of Nigeria to the heart of Yorubaland in the southwest. And each step brought me closer to Lagos, the giant, crazy heart of the country. I'll be honest. When planning this trip, Lagos was the elephant in the room. I was happy to focus on Calabar or the old Islamic cities of the north, but Lagos felt like another game altogether. It's the biggest city in Africa (the best current guess is a population of around 16 million), and carries an unenviable...